London - Stock Exchange open postponed due to tewchnical problems (again)

London open postponed due to technical problems
By Adrienne Roberts - 5 Apr 2000 08:54GMT

The London Stock Exchange postponed its open on Wednesday, due to "technical problems". The exchange announced at 0814 GMT that it was still investigating the hitch.

The exchange warned firms and software vendors that some of Tuesday's data had been erroneously re-published on Wednesday, and that when trade began data displays might show incorrect information.

"These are errors in display only, and will have no impact on data integrity within the exchange's systems or on trade execution," said the LSE.

The bourse's difficulties were not the first hitch of the week. On Monday, the calculation of the FTSE 100 Index was disrupted for several hours as a computer problem affected all Reuters systems displaying prices from the London Stock Exchange. The problem was blamed on a corrupted database.

LONDON -- The London Stock Exchange was unable to say when market
prices will go live after the opening was delayed Wednesday due to
technical difficulties.

London's dealing rooms were thrown into confusion as a technical
glitch at the London Stock Exchange brought trading to a virtual
standstill at a time of extreme volatility on equity markets around
the world.

A problem with the LSE's share-price feed meant traders and investors
were unable to obtain accurate price data.

"It's a farce," said the head of equity trading at a leading
investment house. "Half our clients are saying there's no point
trying to deal."

The jam couldn't have happened at a worse time, coming only a day
after Wall Street experienced one of the most volatile trading days
in its history.

"On a normal week, people might have been prepared to deal, but with
the volatility we've had lately, nobody is confident of the true
level of where prices are," a trader said.

More than 90 minutes after the stock market's scheduled 0700 GMT
open, the technical problem still hadn't been resolved.

"We're looking into it and will make an announcement when we know
more," said a spokeswoman for the LSE.

A subsequent LSE statement said some price data from Tuesday was re-
published in error earlier Wednesday and it warned that some displays
may have erroneous data when the market does open.

Meanwhile, most London trading desks were much quieter than usual as
institutional clients sat on their hands.

"The phones aren't ringing like normal," said an equity salesman at
brokerage Peel, Hunt & Co.